My father was a tough guy. A war veteran right out of the John Wayne/Ted Williams mold. A man who never complained about pain and worked hard every day. And I grew up watching the toughest man I ever met pray. Often.

To me, it was what real men did. He wore a scapular, attended daily Mass, and prayed the rosary for the souls in purgatory almost incessantly. And there's something about seeing the strongest person you know get down on his knees that helps to shape a child to learn what being a man is about.

I tell you this because I just read an interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke who made headlines discussing the issue that many men no longer feel at home in the Church. I know that...READ MORE

The mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed announced today the firing of the city's fire chief for the crime of being a Christian, according to news reports.

It seems the fire chief, Kelvin Cochran, wrote a book for his Bible study group in which he espoused actual Christian beliefs. How dare he?

But his firing doesn't infringe on religious freedom at all, so says the mayor. "This is not about religious freedom, this is not about free speech" the mayor reportedly said. "Judgement is the basis of the problem." So there you have it. If you're fired for being a Christian it's not because you're a Christian it's because you displayed bad judgment in being a Christian. You get the difference, right?

Everyone's always talking about the secularization of Christmas. I'm more concerned right now with the wife-icization of Christmas. I'm supposed to be wrapping my presents for my wife right now so I'm locked in my room but instead of wrapping, I'm writing this stupid post. I'm thinking that if guys ran Christmas things would be very different.

So if guys ran Christmas...

There'd be no wrapping paper. It just wouldn't even exist. You can be surprised by my gift when I carry it into the room. You don't need an extra moment of anticipation at 69 cents a foot. Not worth it. The most you'd get is we'd put the gift in an old shoebox but actually we'd never keep the shoebox so forget that part....READ MORE

A pregnant woman in Ireland could be removed from life support early next week if some in her family gets their way, according to the Daily Mail.

Health authorities in the predominantly Catholic country are seeking legal advice over whether the pregnant woman, who is reportedly in her late 20's and suffered some sort of brain trauma, should be removed from life support. She is still reportedly in the sixteenth week of her pregnancy.

According to news reports, some in the woman's family have sought legal representation and are seeking to have the woman removed from life support. In Ireland however, the laws protect the child in the womb, although last year there were some loosening of the...READ MORE

A couple in Australia has aborted their unborn child at 28 weeks after learning that the baby would be born with a deformed left hand.

Mind you, at 28 weeks a baby has over a 90% chance of surviving outside the womb with proper healthcare. But the mother said she was "really, really depressed" about the baby's diagnosis so that would seem to trump the illegality or immorality of late-term abortions.

The mother said she believed she would feel guilty for allowing a baby to live with a disability. "I grew up with many people who were disabled, and… there was discrimination," the mother told The Brisbane Times. "I didn't want my child to be discriminated against. The problem is... obvious...READ MORE

President Theodore Roosevelt, an avowed environmentalist, banned Christmas trees from the White House during his presidency. The president was against real Christmas trees because he feared that Christmas trees would lead to deforestation. Mind you, at the time Christmas trees were very controversial with environmentalists. President William McKinley even reportedly received a letter in 1899 saying Christmas trees were "arboreal infanticide" and "un-American."

Roosevelt's action was intended to inspire Americans to just say no to Christmas trees. Clearly his bully pulpit didn't have the effect he wanted, even on his own children.

A PTA of a public school in the Boston area apparently worked behind closed doors to prevent elementary school students from being exposed to the eeeeevil dangers of a...Christmas tree!!! (Cue the impending doom music.)

It's gotten so bad that one news report says that one board member may step down over the controversy over the fear of exposing children to secondhand Christmas.Sheesh. The Butler Elementary School PTA made a decision to cancel the annual field trip to see "The Nutcracker" ballet because supposedly some parents complained about the Christmas tree on stage in some scenes. Maybe they should've taken the kids to see Rent.

Just about one hundred years ago, in November of 1915, a baby was born to a husband and wife. The baby was born with only one ear and some medical issues that would lead to the baby's death unless something was done.

Enter Dr. Harry Haiselden, a prominent young Chicago surgeon, to examine the child. Upon an examination, the doctor decided that the "defective" baby's life was not worth saving. Not only did he decide that but he convinced the parents to allow the baby to die. But Dr. Haiselden did not stop there. Not content with allowing the baby to die, he hastily called a news conference to publicly announce his decision. An instant celebrity was created.